TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 6 Tennessee got production up and down the lineup to come away with a 9-8 victory and another series win at Alabama on Sunday afternoon.

The Vols scored in six different innings and finished the day with 15 hits, their most in an SEC game this season.

Five different players recorded multiple hits for Tennessee. Jake Rucker, Jordan Beck and Luc Lipcius had three hits apiece while Liam Spence and Logan Steenstra had two base knocks. Spence also scored two runs, had an RBI and walked three times despite battling a sore hamstring.

Freshman right hander Blade Tidwell earned the win to improve to 4-1 on the year despite not having his best stuff. The Loretto, Tennessee, native had five strikeouts but also allowed five runs (four earned) in 5.1 innings of work.

Sophomore lefty Kirby Connell was big out of the bullpen once again, striking out five batters in three innings. Sean Hunley picked up Connell in the ninth, recording two high-pressure outs to earn his third save of the year.

Neither team wasted any time getting the bats going on Sunday with three runs apiece in the first inning. Beck and Lipcius both had RBI singles in the top of the first to put the Vols ahead 3-0, but Alabama answered right back with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning.

The Big Orange jumped back in front with two runs in the third and another in the fourth, getting a pair of RBI walks from Lipcius and Drew Gilbert to score two of those runs and make it a 6-4 game.
The Crimson Tide punched back once again in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run by Owen Diodati to cut the Tennessee lead to one run.

Tennessee scored in the sixth, seventh and eighth to take a 9-5 lead, but the Tide did not go down without a fight, as they pulled within two runs on a two-run homer from Sam Praytor in the eighth and scratched across a run in the ninth before Hunley got Drew Williamson to ground out to strand the tying run at third base.

The Vols return to Knoxville for four home games this week, hosting Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday before a big series against Florida next weekend.

NOTABLE

BEST STARTS SINCE: With Sunday’s win the Big Orange improved to 7-2 in SEC play this season, their best start to league play since 2001 when they were 8-1. UT has also won its first three conference series for the first time since that 2001 season. The Vols have won both of their SEC road series, as well, marking the first time they have done that since 2005 (Auburn and Kentucky).

MULTI-HIT VOLS: Five players had multi-hit days on Sunday (Liam Spence, Jake Rucker, Jordan Beck, Luc Lipcius, Logan Steenstra). Rucker, Beck and Lipcius had three hits each while Lipcius also drove in three runs for the Vols. Tennessee’s 15 hits on Sunday are its most in an SEC game this season.

Box Score (PDF) | Series Stats (PDF) | Vitello Postgame

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of errors leading to a six-run third inning was the difference as the No. 21 Tennessee softball team fell to No. 8 Kentucky, 13-2, on Saturday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The Lady Vols (27-6, 3-5 SEC) struggled at the dish with runners in scoring position, going just 1-for-7 in run scoring opportunities, while Kentucky (27-5, 4-4 SEC) recorded four multi-RBI homers to power past UT.

One bright spot for the Orange & White came in the fourth, when freshman Rylie West belted her first career home run off the bottom of the scoreboard in left center.

Senior infielder Chelsea Seggern was the lone Lady Vol to post multiple hits, going 2-for-2 at the dish with a pair of singles and an RBI in the third frame.

Kentucky led from wire-to-wire, tacking on multiple runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth, posting a six-spot in the third to take a commanding eight-run lead that would be the difference in the evenings’ proceedings.

The Wildcats added a trio of insurance runs in the fourth to take an 11-2 lead into the would-be final inning of the night.

UK added two more runs in the fifth, before Grace Baalman closed out her complete game effort to force a series deciding game three.

UP NEXT
Tennessee and Kentucky return to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for an Easter Sunday rubber game. First pitch from Knoxville is set for 2 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

PDF Box Score | Updated Overall Stats | Updated SEC Stats

-UT Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 6 Tennessee dropped its first series opener of the year, falling 7-4 to Alabama on Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The Volunteers (22-5 // 5-2 SEC) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but back-to-back big innings for the Crimson Tide in the fourth and the fifth turned the game.

UT starting pitcher Chad Dallas was solid through the first three innings of the game before running into trouble in the fourth, allowing three runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batter before exiting the game.

Like Dallas, the normally stout Sean Hunley did not have his best night either, allowing three runs on a pair of hits in 1.1 innings of work, picking up the loss to drop his record to 4-1 on the year.

Seven different Tennessee players recorded a hit, but Liam Spence was the only Vol to have multiple base knocks in the game, finishing 2-for-5 with a pair of singles and a run scored.

Luc Lipcius provided the Big Orange with an early 1-0 lead, blasting a solo home run to right field in the top of the second inning to open the scoring. It was the fourth homer of the year for the Virginia native.
Tennessee added to its lead with three more runs in the third, using three straight two-out RBI hits from Jake Rucker, Drew Gilbert and Jordan Beck to build a 4-0 lead.

Alabama (16-9 // 2-5 SEC) cut UT’s lead to one with a three-run fourth inning. The Crimson Tide loaded the bases with no outs before plating three runs on a hit batter, fielder’s choice and RBI single to make it a 4-3 game.

The Tide continued their hot hitting in the fifth, taking their first lead on a two-run homer by Sam Praytor. They went on to score one more run in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Drew Williamson to take a 6-4 lead into the sixth. Williamson drove in his third run of the night with a solo home run in the eighth to cap the scoring.

The Vols brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth, but Alabama closer Chase Lee was able to escape the jam and end the game with a strikeout to earn his second save of the season.

The Vols will look to even the series tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET. Game 2 will be televised on the SEC Network.

NOTABLE

ON-BASE STREAKS EXTENDED: Despite the loss, four Vols extended their lengthy on-base streaks on Friday night. Liam Spence (29), Max Ferguson (20), Pete Derkay (14) and Jake Rucker (12) all reached base to extend their streaks.

FIRST SERIES-OPENING LOSS: Friday’s loss to Alabama marked the first loss for Tennessee in a series opener this season. The Vols had won all six of their series openers entering the weekend.

Box Score (PDF) | Vitello Postgame

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another dominant performance in the circle from junior Ashley Rogers and an explosive fifth inning, propelled the No. 21 Tennessee softball team past eighth-ranked Kentucky, 6-1, on Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The win is Tennessee’s (27-5, 3-4 SEC) second victory over a top-10 opponent this season, and Kentucky’s (25-5, 3-4 SEC) fourth road loss in its last five true road games.

Rogers’ performance credited her with a win for the fourth consecutive game for the Lady Vols, as she fanned 10 batters and gave up just one run on three hits, while also tossing her 12th complete game of the year. Rogers’ 10 K’s marked her seventh double-digit strikeout performance of the season.

Senior Amanda Ayala was electric at the dish, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBIs and a massive home run to help UT regain the lead late in Friday’s win.

Classmate Ashley Morgan was also big, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Both of Morgan’s hits and RBIs came in the Orange & White’s final two innings at the plate to give the Lady Vols some much-needed insurance.

Graduate student Cailin Hannon was the third Lady Vol to finish with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI to give Tennessee a quick lead in the opening.

The Lady Vols opened the scoring in the first inning on back-to-back hits from Ayala and Hannon. Ayala punched a single through the left side, before Hannon belted a double to left field to give UT the early, 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Kentucky evened things up on a solo shot off the scoreboard from Kayla Kowalik.

Following two business-as-usual innings, and the score still tied, Ayala delivered with Kaitlin Parsons on first. The Bloomfield, New Jersey native went yard over the left field wall, putting UT back in the lead, 3-1.

The Orange & White closed the fifth inning with two more runs on singles from Ashley Morgan and Kiki Milloy to take a massive, 5-1, lead heading into the evening’s latter stages.

Morgan collected her second RBI of the day on a single through the left side, scoring Ayala for the third time and increasing the UT lead to, 6-1 heading into the final frame.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will take on Kentucky in game two of its Easter Weekend series with the Wildcats on Saturday night on national television. First pitch from Sherri Parker Lee Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

PDF Box Score | Postgame Press Conference | Postgame Press Conference Download | Updated Overall Stats | Updated SEC Stats

-UT Athletics